For the first time in 60 years, a fully-staged, full-length revival of A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, a musical based on BetTy Smith's iconic American novel of the same name, will open in New York City March 20, 2011. Presented by the award winning Peccadillo Theater Company, previews begin March 12 at Theatre at St. Clement's (423 W 46th Street). When announced in mid February, interest in the musical generated the highest advanced sales of any production in the 17 year Peccadillo history.
The initial four week run (originally scheduled to end April 3) has completely sold out even before the first preview performance. Peccadillo has decided to extend an additional week, bumping up from 6 shows a week to 7 shows for the April 4 - 10 extension.
The
Peccadillo Theater Company is also donating to the Mayor's Storm Fund from the theater's ticket revenue of A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. $10 for each Premium Ticket sold during the run of the show will be donated to the Fund and will be designated to plant trees in Brooklyn.
Hailed by the New York Times as "an inspiration" and "a star of the American musical theater," A Tree Grows in Brooklyn features
Arthur Schwartz and
Dorothy Fields' finest score-- a pastiche of musical comedy, Irish folk songs and Broadway razzle dazzle, and touting a newly revised book by award-winning librettist,
Susan DiLallo, is poised to restore the musical to its proper place among the great, mid-century American musicals.
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn is the poignant story of the Nolan family, beginning in 1902 in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. There's
Johnny Nolan, a ne'er do well singer with dreams of Broadway glory, his wife, Katie, struggling to make a better life for her family, and 12 year-old Francie, an aspiring writer who relies on her imagination and her love of reading to get through hard times.
The cast of A Tree Grows in Brooklyn includes
Jim Stanek as Johnny,
Elizabeth Loyacano as Katie,
Keaton Whittaker as Francie,
KLea Blackhurst as Cissy,
Timothy Shew as Oscar,
LiAnne Marie Dobbs as Hildy,
Jason Simon as Aloysius,
Thursday Farrar as Nellie. The cast also includes
Matthew Bauman,
Lauren Blackman,
Jack Doyle,
Christopher Kauffmann,
Freddie Kimmel,
Leah Landau,
Kenny Morris,
Johnny Stellard, and
Toni Elizabeth White.
Led by Obie award winning director,
Dan Wackerman, the creative team includes musical director
Kristen Blodgette, musical director of Broadway's Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and currently musical director of Phantom of the Opera on Broadway, and choreographer
Richard Stafford whose credits include choreography for Broadway's In My Life. Scenic design is by
Joseph Spirito, lighting design by
Kate Ashton, and costume design by
Amy Bradshaw. Executive producer is
Sarahbeth Grossman, who produced The Irish Curse Off Broadway last season. Producer is
Kevin Kennedy, Managing Director of the
Peccadillo Theater Company.
Founded in 1994, The
Peccadillo Theater Company is a not-for-profit arts organization dedicated to the rediscovery of classic American theater, particularly those works which, despite their obvious literary and theatrical value, are not regularly revived.
Beginning with
Eugene O'Neill (generally considered the starting point of modern American theater), Peccadillo concentrates on the era of the so-called well-made play, a period of sparkling wit and sophistication in comedy as well as deepening realism in the drama. It encompasses such diverse and little-known dramas as The Silver Cord by
Sidney Howard, Jane by
S.N. Behrman, Morning Star by
Sylvia Regan, The Shanghai Gesture by
John Colton as well as the neglected plays of celebrated authors like
Dorothy Parker and
John O'Hara. Taken as a whole, this work represents nothing less than the American experience itself in all its contradictions and screwball energy.
The mission of The
Peccadillo Theater Company is to restore these buried gems to their rightful owners- the American theatergoer. In recent years, Peccadillo has broadened its mission to include original plays and musicals that share some of the virtues of classic American theater- qualities such as period style, well-defined characters and strong plotting. Such was the case with The Talk of the Town, an original musical about the legendary wits of the Algonquin Roundtable, several of whose plays Peccadillo has produced. And Zero Hour, a one-man show about the actor/comedian,
Zero Mostel, whose appearance before the House Un-American Activities Committee was just as explosive as his stage performances. Peccadillo's most recent production was its critically acclaimed revival of
Lillian Hellman's, Another Part of the Forest, the first production of the play in New York City in decades.
Performances at Theatre at St. Clements, 423 W 46th Street, New York City, will run from March 12th through April 10th, 2011. Previews begin March 12 with a March 20 opening. Performances will take place Tuesdays & Wednesdays at 7 pm, Thursdays - Saturdays at 8 pm with matinees Sundays at 3 pm through April 10. An added Saturday matinee will occur during the extension week on April 9th at 3 pm.
Regular tickets for the extra week extension are $65 with Premium Tickets selling for $75 (which includes the $10 donation to the Mayor's Storm Fund) and may be purchased by phone through Ovation Tix at 212-352-3101 or online by visiting
www.ThePeccadillo.com.
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